Redact a PDF permanently
The common and dangerous mistake is drawing a black rectangle over sensitive text in an image editor — the text is still in the file and can be copied straight out. Real redaction destroys the content underneath, which is what this does.
Private by design: your files are held in your browser. Anything processed on the server is deleted within the hour, automatically — we keep no copies.
How to redact a PDF permanently
Open the file and switch to the Redact tab.
Draw boxes over everything that must be hidden — names, numbers, signatures.
Apply. Redaction is permanent: the content underneath is destroyed, not just covered.
Questions
- Can the redacted text be recovered by copy-pasting?
- No. The underlying content is removed from the file, not merely covered with a black shape. That distinction is the whole reason to use a redaction tool instead of drawing rectangles.
- Can I undo a redaction?
- Not within the redacted file — by design. Save the result as a new copy so you keep the unredacted original if you still need it.
- Does it also remove hidden metadata?
- Redaction removes the content inside the boxes you draw. Document metadata such as author or title is a separate matter — check it before sharing anything sensitive.
- Do my files stay private?
- Yes. Your files are held in your own browser, not in an account on our servers. When a tool has to run server-side, the file is staged for the few seconds the operation takes and then deleted — everything is purged within an hour at the latest, automatically. We store no copies and nothing that identifies you.